The morning session of the first Grape Wall Challenge started 15 minutes ago. Here is a list of the six people on the consumer panel. They will get the wines in flights of ten and are being asked to judge each wine as “I love it,” “I like it,” “I dislike it,” or “I hate it.” (See here for a list of judges on the expert panel.)

Huihui ‘Grace’ SUN, Shandong
Sun is a master student in microbiology at China Agricultural University and a teaching assistant who helps with tastings held in the school’s wine appreciation course.

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Guomei ‘Natalie’ LIANG, Tianjin
Employed at a private club, Liang became seriously interested in wine at age 24 and has experimented with making small batches of wine.

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Chuan LEI, Liaoning
Chuan became interested in wine while living in France for 18 months. She became a Challenge judge after winning a contest on China Radio International’s Beyond Beijing program.

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Ying ‘Jane’ ZHANG, Anhui
A Beijing resident for 20 years, Zhang is a graphic designer at an advertising company. She has been trying wine for about two years, mainly on Friday nights at Sequoia Café.

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Leo ZENG, Hubei
Zeng is the head waiter at Café Europa. His wine experience comes from assisting with tastings at the restaurant.

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Tao ‘Mario’ YUAN, Hubei
Yuan is a bartender at the bar and lounge Stumble Inn and previously worked at the bar Aperitivo.

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